Inside the Granolith Chamber, the Royal Four assembled in a four-square pattern with Ava next to Max. Isabel stood across from him and Michael beside her and across from Ava. Max saw brief flashes of memory from the Destiny Book, which depicted the four in the same configuration. Zan stood behind Isabel and Michael closer to the passage between the Granolith Chamber and the pod chamber, which positioned him so that he could see Max and Ava's faces. Max made eye contact with Isabel.
"I can't believe this is actually happening," Isabel lamented with tears streaming down her face.
Max remained focused on the task at hand. He didn't want to think too much about leaving his life with Liz behind. It crushed him to consider that the death of his Max Evans identity would place the entire burden of grief on Liz. He knew that if he went down the rabbit hole of exploring all of those emotions, he might falter and not proceed with the plan. Also, like anyone facing their demise, he pushed down the fear of his impending death.
"We said our goodbyes," Max said resolutely, "now it's time for us to do what needs to be done."
Isabel looked down and Max shifted his attention to Michael, who nodded courageously in agreement. Max glanced over at Ava, who he could tell made eye contact with Zan. Max opened the box containing the memory crystals and held it out between all of them. Michael grimaced and took his. Next Ava grabbed her crystal. Max leaned in toward Isabel and she reluctantly reached in, her hand trembling, and took hers. Max took his. He closed the box and placed it and the Granolith on the ground between them.
Beyond simply empathizing with Isabel, their psychic bond allowed Max to also experience the devastation she felt at the idea of letting Vilandra take control. It occurred to him that letting Isabel keep her identity but join the rest of them would be more difficult than this. All of their pain would end when their identities got pushed out in favor of those of their past selves. And Max needed to place his faith in King Zan, Queen Ava and Rath's ability to handle Vilandra and whatever threat she might pose to them.
"Now what?" Michael asked after a moment, making eye contact with Ava.
"Don't look to me," she replied simply, "I didn't know nothin' about these, either."
"We should try to just focus," Max suggested, "just like the healing stones and the orbs."
Cradling the memory crystal for King Zan in his hands, Max looked into his lap and focused. After a few seconds, his crystal came to life and a blue light from the center of the crystal lit up. Max glanced around for a moment to confirm that Isabel, Michael and Ava's crystals all began glowing too. With time, the blue light intensified until it seemed to start leaking its way outside the confines of the crystal. Max watched the phenomenon with fascination. He wondered what Liz would say. It seemed like an aura would exit the crystal and enter his body. Max didn't expect a physical presence to be part of the ritual, though he realized he should know better than to make assumptions.
Before the process could continue, Zan called out. "Stop," he shouted with urgency.
Max lost his concentration causing the aura to recede back into his memory crystal and the light to swiftly blink out similar to blowing out a candle. He quickly assessed that Zan's interruption halted the process for the other three, too.
"Damn it, Zan," Ava scolded, taking an annoyed parent tone, "I know this must be hard to watch, but if you're gonna be here, then you gotta stand back and let us do this."
Zan slid between Michael and Isabel and stood in the middle of them.
"It's not that," Zan explained with an air of confidence that Max never saw or heard from his son before.
"What is it, son?" Max asked him.
"You should stop because I don't think you should be doing this," Zan declared, still sounding confident.
"Yo, we've been through this," Ava reminded him.
It seemed like she might continue speaking, but Zan interjected before Ava could continue.
"Maybe I'm not being clear," Zan said, "we need to use the memory crystals, but I don't think any of you should be using them."
"What are you saying?" Isabel asked with intensity.
Max could sense her fear over their pending transformation still dominated Isabel's emotions, but he could also pick up a cautious chord of hope from her that Zan came up with something. Max sensed Zan's suggestion wouldn't be any easier to stomach than their current plan.
"Let me use them," Zan stated simply and confidently.
"What?!" Ava recoiled. "No, Zan!"
"Is that even possible?" Max asked.
Before Zan could answer, Ava spun toward him.
"Max," she rebuked disapprovingly, acting like a mother hen.
Michael reached out gingerly and put a hand on Ava's shoulder. Max noticed how the two seemed to begin forming a friendly bond ever since they stayed outside the Special Unit base while the rest of the group met with Agent Samuelson. Ava's posture softened a little and she pivoted to face Michael and made eye contact with him.
"Everything about this is tough. But this might be the last time you ever talk to your son," Michael reminded Ava. "Don't you think you should hear him out?"
Ava nodded and looked defeated. Now the whole group turned their attention toward Zan.
"To answer Dad's question… Yes, it's possible, and it will work," Zan began. "I can feel it. Think about it. None of you could defeat Kivar in your past lives. Could you do it if you all worked together? We don't know. We also don't even know if Vilandra wants to. I can take everyone's strength and with Zan, Ava and Rath in me, I can prevent Vilandra from taking her power and joining the other side. Besides, you all have lives here that mean something to you. I can see how devastated you all are to do this. It should be me to make this sacrifice."
"But your life's just beginning," Ava argued, though no longer animated and taking an empathetic tone. "We've had our chance to live our Earth lives, and we know it's been longer than we was supposed to stay here. You don't have to shoulder our responsibilities from Antar. You deserve to be safe and build a life for yourself here."
"No," Zan reacted calmly and confidently, "it's different for me. You should understand more than anyone, Mom."
"All I've ever wanted for you is to be safe and happy," Max told his son with love. "So I don't understand."
Zan took a deep breath and offered his explanation. "All of my life, I've struggled to fit in. I was curious about my alien heritage, even though nobody wanted to tell me about it. I see now that we have enemies, and I never developed the abilities to defend myself. As a human, I've always been an outsider. I've never kissed a girl or had any real friends. I never aspired to start a family or find a career. I've always felt this void… It's not just depression stuff that a lot of kids go through. It's like I was meant to walk a path I could never find. I used to think it might be from Dad not being around, but I realize now it's more than that. For the first time, it's hit me what my purpose is, and that's a question I've struggled with my whole life. You four think it's your destiny to return to Antar and restore order. But that was based on Nasedo waking you up in 1947 and using these. Things have evolved, both here on Earth and back on Antar. You all belong here, and I… don't. Dad, you're the one who said that if anyone's going to use these crystals, it has to be for something that matters. I'm a quarter alien-hybrid and three-quarters awkward, misfit human. Even now that I'm in my 20s, there's no indication I'm moving past any of that. This is my chance to do something meaningful with my life… and save all of yours. You have to let me."
Max noticed Isabel and Michael both deferred to him to make the call. Max considered this moment somewhat comparable to a human parent giving permission to their child to move away from home for the first time. At first, he hoped to get to know Zan and build a relationship with him when this all ended. That hope began to fade when Larek presented his belief that Max needed to return to Antar, and it became completely dashed when Max decided to use the memory crystal. Max wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice his life for his son's and doing so would be easier for Max than losing Zan for a third time.
When Max glanced over at Ava, he saw her wipe tears from her eyes, but she didn't look like she intended to attempt to persuade Zan to reassess his proposed plan or forbid it. He took that as a sign that Ava conceded that Zan grew to the point where he didn't need his parents to give him permission to pursue this path. After all, Ava dedicated much of her life to raising and protecting Zan, and Max knew she wouldn't hesitate to object unless she thought she no longer had the right to.
Reflecting on recent events, Max realized that understanding the consequences and learning from his mistake of going with Nicholas and Kivar to their ship signified a final rite of passage for Zan. Only a few days ago, the dynamic looked much different, but Zan's speech and confident conviction established a newfound capability to make a difficult adult decision. Max needed to accept that he and Ava shouldn't try to hold him back and that attempting to do so would represent selfish motivations.
Max allowed Tess to take Zan to Antar believing Zan needed to live there to survive, and he gave Zan up for adoption to keep him safe from the dangers and complications associated with Max's life. Allowing Zan to sacrifice the life he experienced on Earth felt like allowing his son to die, but, as usual, alien considerations complicated the situation. Maybe his son's destiny always involved channeling the essence of the Royal Four to save Antar, and maybe Max's destiny always meant letting it happen.
"Ok, Zan," Max said, "I'm not going to tell you can't do this. And your point about combining the power and experience of the Royal Four into one body being the best hope for Antar makes sense and could very well be true. If the rest of use these crystals and the five of us die along with our families and countless other families, then it would all be for nothing. I trust you, and I believe in you."
Max reached out and offered his memory crystal to Zan who took it with his right hand. Isabel and Michael followed his lead and he took their crystals with his left hand. Next, Zan made eye contact with Ava and the two spent several seconds looking into each other's eyes. Zan reached out his right hand, holding the memory crystal Max gave him so that Ava could place hers next to it.
"Mom, please," Zan prodded softly.
Ava plopped the crystal into Zan's hand, giving Zan possession of all four memory crystals. Max, Isabel, Michael and Ava pivoted so that they stood closer to the passage back to the pod chamber with the Granolith still on the floor now between the four of them and Zan.
"Ok," Zan said, not losing his recently acquired confidence but also sounding nervous for the first time, "here goes nothing."
Holding two crystals in each hand, Zan closed his eyes and it looked like he went into a state of meditation. Max wondered if Zan practiced meditation before now, but this wasn't the time to ask Ava about that. Around 30 seconds went by and then all the crystals lit up blue once more. The aura Max observed from his crystal seeped out of all four of them and floated up toward Zan's head. The four blue auras surrounded Zan's head and thinner streams of light began flowing into Zan's head while the aura continued to expand. Zan's eyes shot open and he made eye contact with Ava.
"Mom, I love you," Zan said.
The aura now surrounded Zan's whole body and they viewed him through a blue haze. Max put his arm around Ava's shoulder and pulled her close to offer some emotional support after Max somehow knew that Zan uttered the final gut-wrenching words of his life. Zan's head thrust back and he began to levitate off the floor. Max, Michael and Isabel instinctively took a step back. Max pulled Ava with him, sensing a part of her wanted to run toward Zan, but he didn't think she should interrupt.
As Zan continued to rise, Max felt a funny feeling in his head. The V-shaped pattern of stars showed up as blue dots on his forehead shining more light out into the room. This startled Ava who broke away from him and stood closer to Michael and Isabel. The Royal Seal projected out of Max's brain and filled the room. Max noted that it seemed like the size of the projection fit perfectly as if designed to project at the Granolith Chamber. The three-dimensional holographic looking projection swirled around the room and then collapsed into Zan's head. Max instantly recognized that any memories from Antar as King Zan were stripped out of him along with the Royal Seal. The blue aura around Zan then faded as Zan slowly descended back to the ground landing unconscious on his back.
Ava ran to him. Max, Michael and Isabel slowly walked over to join her. Ava knelt by Zan's side.
"Something's wrong with him," Ava remarked through tears, "you gotta do something. You have to heal 'im."
"We… don't know that," Max said, "and I don't think we should interfere. At least not yet."
Suddenly the room shook violently. Max and Liz experienced a major earthquake while in California one time and this shaking mirrored that experience. Except Max knew an earthquake this big in Roswell could likely never occur naturally.
"What was that?" Isabel asked.
Before anyone could answer the room shook violently once more.
"Kivar," Michael said, "he must've found us."
Isabel looked at Max. "I agree," he shared, "what else can explain this?"
"What are we supposed to do?" Isabel asked. "Do we even have our powers anymore?"
Michael reached his hand out. A white light swelled in his palm and he cracked the black silicon base that once held the ship and hid the Granolith and the memory crystals.
"Looks like it," Michael noted.
Max held his hand up and erected his green shield for a couple seconds.
"Same here," Max added.
Isabel used her powers to repair the crack in the black silicon base that Michael created moments earlier.
"I can feel that no part of Vilandra is inside of me anymore," Isabel said, "but I don't understand why our powers still work."
"Nasedo always said that we have our powers because we were engineered to be able to do everything the human mind is capable of," Max reminded her.
"And it wasn't the memories of our past lives that taught us how to control them," Michael added, as if realizing it himself for the first time. "It was the people we became—and still are—that did that."
Once again, the room shook like an earthquake. This time more violently as they all stumbled some, though no one fell down.
"I think we need to go face Kivar," Max suggested.
Like Isabel, Max could tell that King Zan's presence no longer resided within him. That made him even less compelled to phrase that like an order than normal. While the obligation to take command came from King Zan and no longer weighed on him, he still wanted to use his powers to do good. None of them ever knew for sure which of their personality traits developed based on their lives on Earth and which they inherited from their past lives on Antar, but Max now knew that this trait came from Max Evans, not King Zan.
"Isn't that his job now?" Isabel asked, gesturing toward Zan, who still lied unconscious on the ground.
"Maybe when he wakes up," Michael replied. "I agree with Maxwell. We need to hold Kivar off."
The three of them moved toward the exit to the pod chamber which could lead them back outside, but Ava remained at Zan's side. Max ran over to her.
"I know you don't want to leave him," Max empathized, "but if Kivar breaks in here while Zan's still unconscious, both he and the Granolith are Kivar's for the taking. We can mount a better defensive position behind the rocks just outside… if Kivar hasn't advanced that far yet. This is how we can protect him."
Ava wiped her hand across her face and it immediately looked like she hadn't been crying. She managed to channel some kind of toughness. Max previously assumed she channeled a warrior mentality from Queen Ava in moments like this, but clearly Ava's life experiences on Earth gave her the resolve and resiliency to go into battle.
"Ok, let's go," Ava said.
With Max leading the way, the hybrids ran back into the pod chamber. Liz, Maria, Jesse, Valenti and Serena immediately spotted them and looked nervous, not knowing what to expect. The room shook again, and in the pod chamber bits of rocks and dust shook loose from the walls and ceiling with the concussive blow from outside. As Max made eye contact with Liz, he experienced the scene in slow motion for a moment. He never thought he'd see Liz again, and he thought she looked more beautiful than ever.
"Liz," he called out and ran up to her.
Max wanted to embrace her, but he didn't completely lose sight of the fact that she might be confused. He didn't want to scare her.
"You know me?" Liz asked.
Max smiled. "Yes, Liz. I'm still me. Zan took in the memories of the Royal Four and none of us went through that change."
Liz crashed into his arms. Maria and Jesse ran up to Michael and Isabel respectively to embrace them as well. Valenti and Serena stayed back and Ava distanced herself from the other three hybrids too.
The room shook again. This spurred all the couples to pull out of their hugs.
"Zan's unconscious in the Granolith Chamber," Max informed Liz, Maria, Valenti, Jesse and Serena. "We think it's Kivar outside who's found us. We still have our powers. We need to confront him outside and hold him at bay until Zan wakes up. You all better come with us. We can protect you better if you stay close. The infrastructure of the Granolith Chamber is stronger, but I'm worried if you stay here, this place could collapse."
Max led the group out of the pod chamber single file followed by Liz, Michael, Maria, Isabel, Jesse, Ava, Serena and Valenti. Everyone inched along the face of the stone structure behind them until the full group emerged. In front them, another rock formation rose above the pathway to the pod chamber entrance, about waist high on Max if standing at the edge of it. Max and Michael exchanged a look and stepped forward cautiously while signaling Isabel and Ava to follow them.
Kivar surely noticed the entrance to the pod chamber hidden in the rock face slide open. Max didn't know if he might aggressively charge them, but he also didn't know Kivar's exact position. Even keeping in mind Kivar's shape shifting capabilities, Max never expected to see the person who appeared to stand at the base of the rock formation staring up at them.
"Is that Nicholas?" Ava asked to them.
In addition to his full suite of superhuman powers, Max quickly realized that his psychic connection to Isabel also remained intact. He felt a rush of shock, then horror and finally guilt come exploding from her heart all in less than a second. The group quickly ran toward the edge of the rocks between themselves and their attacker. Max glanced back to ensure that Liz and the other humans hovered back near the pod chamber entrance so that they stayed between the hybrids and their adversary. Meanwhile, the hybrids slowly peeked their heads above the rocks that shielded them.
"It can't be," Isabel said to no one in particular.
"Well, well, well. So this is where that snake Nasedo hid away the Granolith," the figure looking like Nicolas shouted bitterly to them. "I must admit, it is clever."
Max noticed that Nicholas sported the undyed brown hair style he wore from high school, not the bleached blond look Max observed when encountering Nicholas in El Quartelejo. Max quickly pieced together that this meant their original suspicion about who tracked them down proved correct.
"It's not Nicholas," Max noted softly to Isabel and the others. "It's Kivar."
Isabel stood up taller.
"Why would you choose the form of this boy to confront us here?" Isabel asked with a slight quiver in her voice.
"What's the matter, Vilandra," Kivar taunted just like Nicholas would, "does it bother you to see the face of the man you murdered?"
Kivar fired a blast of alien energy. Max reached up for Isabel's wrist and pulled her down while taking cover himself. A chunk off the top of the rocks shattered into dust. Max quickly took stock of everyone else. Michael and Ava managed to duck out of the way too. He looked back to see Liz, Maria, Jesse, Serena and Valenti crouched down in response to the attack, but they still remained back closer to the taller rock face behind them.
Michael rose to stand tall and Max, Isabel and Ava quickly followed his lead.
"We're not fooled by your tricks," Michael shouted down at him, "we know it's you, Kivar."
Kivar laughed an evil, vindictive chuckle.
"Maybe you're right," he shouted up at them, "perhaps a friendlier face would be more fitting for you to see given where we are."
Kivar raised his hand and Max squinted as a bright white light eradiated from Kivar's whole body in the bright desert sun. When the light faded, Kivar now appeared as someone different.
"Nasedo," Max announced.
"No," Michael countered, "you can't think that way. It's all just Kivar, no matter who he changes into we can't let it be a distraction. Put up your shield!"
Max almost got caught not paying attention, but he quickly raised his shield and projected it so that it extended across all of them. He activated his defensive power just in time as a powerful surge of power from Kivar smashed into his shield. The force irradiated amber from the point of contact and spread quickly, transforming his entire green shield to amber. Max felt sweat accumulating on his brow as he focused mightily to maintain his shield, which slowly returned to its usual green color.
"This can all be over if you simply hand over the Granolith," Kivar said, eerily nailing Nasedo's emotionless tone and inflections.
Out of the corner of his eye, Max spotted Michael swing around past him and Isabel, now taking up a position to Max's left.
"We have to help him, quickly," Michael instructed Isabel and Ava.
The three of them placed their hands on top of Max's, channeling their energy into his. Max could feel his shield growing stronger.
"We won't let you take the Granolith and use it to continue your reign of terror," Max shouted at Kivar.
"Let's attack," Michael whispered.
The four focused and the now familiar transformation from a wide green shield into a dark purple sphere quickly took place. They fired a massive blast at Kivar, holding nothing back. Max could feel that this was the most powerful attack that they managed to sling at Kivar. It topped the cautious blast they fired off at Ava's house, the attack weakened by Kivar's mental attack at the general store and the attack without Isabel at the park near Valenti's house.
As the purple sphere torpedoed its way toward Kivar, the defensive shield was gone. It would take Max a few seconds to summon back enough strength to reactivate it. He watched as Kivar swiftly activated his own amber shield. The shield seemed to bend backward toward Kivar as it became discolored and then an explosion of white light.
"Did we get 'im?" Ava asked.
"I don't think so," Michael shouted back.
As the white light faded, Kivar re-emerged in the form of the tall, muscular black man that he mostly presented himself as during their time in El Quartelejo when his true identity became exposed.
"Enough of this," Kivar boomed.
Fear started to settle in for Max as they instinctively crouched below the rocks between them and Kivar, even though the rocks probably offered little protection against an opponent as powerful as Kivar. They finally unleashed the most powerful attack the four of them could possibly muster, and Kivar barely seemed phased. After absorbing the attack, he easily used what always seemed like a fair amount of energy and effort to shapeshift into another form. Isabel made eye contact with Max, becoming worried based on the fear she sensed off of him.
"I need you all just to block him," Max said.
Isabel, Michael and Ava nodded. They stood up, Max extended his hand and the other three quickly stacked their hands on top of his. Max took a moment to feel their power flow into him and then activated his shield.
Max could feel the barrier, which he didn't need to project quite as wide with the other hybrids huddled around him, buckle at the point of contact. Max sensed that the initial blow wasn't as powerful as Kivar's last attack. He quickly realized why. The force didn't stop like one of Kivar's hurled balls of energy. Instead he hit them with a sustained attack.
"It doesn't feel like we can keep this up for long," Isabel panted as they began to tire.
"We have to," Max said back.
Through the green of his shield, Max could see Kivar on the move. He managed to sustain his attack while walking up the trail that would wind around toward them. As Kivar closed the physical distance between them, the combination of inching closer and the waning energy from the four hybrids made it increasingly more difficult to maintain their shield.
Max looked back at Liz. His eyes languished as he projected his thoughts and fears that they may not get another moment together after all. Liz leaned forward as she wanted to run toward him, but Max subtly shook his head to signal her not to.
"He's coming this way," Max told Liz and the rest of the humans, pausing at times to take in extra breath and maintain his focus on using his powers, "as he hits the trail we need to… pivot to continue to fight him. You have to… come up and get right behind us now. We're going to be… you're only line of defense."
The five humans rushed over behind the four hybrids as instructed. Max and the other hybrids swiveled to their left as Kivar reached the base of the winding trail below. Max gritted his teeth and poured all of his concentration and focus into maintaining the shield as long as possible. As Kivar came around the bend, they dropped to their knees, sacrificing the energy to stand on their feet to keep the shield active even just seconds longer.
Finally the shield gave way.
"How pathetic," Kivar spat at them bitterly.
Max looked him in his hateful eyes, which scanned the four hybrids carefully. It's like he looked for something and then Max realized that of course he did.
"I don't know if it's the weakness of your half-human bodies, or that you failed to recover your memories, but you all possess a mere fraction of the might and power you once you had," Kivar mused hatefully. "I can't believe there was ever so much as a sliver of concern over the possibility of your return to Antar. Now: Where is the Granolith?"
"We'll never just hand it over to you," Max said bravely, "we'll die before we let that happen."
Kivar looked at him belittling for a moment. Then he chuckled darkly.
"I don't think you understand," Kivar taunted, "your fate is already sealed. As much as I could enjoy slowly taking you out once for and all … Believe it or not, I am a king who knows mercy. If you hand the Granolith over to me now, I will promise you a swift death. I may even consider letting your human loved ones live."
"Don't do it, Max," Liz encouraged.
At first Max felt horrified that she could provoke a man so angry and unhinged in this way. Then he realized something. Huddled together, their nine-person group were all linked and in physical contact with one another. Of course Liz would put her brilliant mind to work formulating a plan while Max, Michael, Isabel and Ava focused all of their thoughts and energy on their powers.
"You welcome death so easily," Kivar commented, with a calm hint of fascination, "I don't know if I admire your bravery or pity your foolishness."
"You underestimate us," Valenti said boldly, "I almost wish I could see the look on your face for this next part."
Max closed his eyes.
"Wha…" Kivar started to say.
Max felt a cooler temperature and sensed a much darker environment than the bright desert sun from outside. He opened his eyes and recognized that Valenti teleported them inside the pod chamber. Liz ran toward him to see if Max came out of that last battle physically ok.
"We couldn't just go back into town with Zan and the Granolith still inside," Liz explained. "But we're hoping this will throw him off balance and buy us some time to regroup."
Max looked into Liz's eyes. "Thank you."
"Can any of you summon enough strength to cave in the entrance?" Liz asked. "That will at least make him work to get in here."
"I think so," Michael said groggily.
"Are you sure?" Maria asked, now at his side.
"I have to try," Michael told her.
Michael stood up and put his hands on his knees, taking several deep breaths to help psych him up to create a cave in and barricade the lone entrance to the pod and Granolith chambers.
Before Michael could make an attempt, they heard the doors connecting the pod chamber to the Granolith Chamber slide open. Moments later, Zan emerged with the Granolith in his hand.
Max, Michael, Isabel and Ava found the strength to all bound to their feet and position themselves between Zan and their human family and friends.
"The pods are here too," Zan said, not yet acknowledging the others, "but I sense… four have become one. This wasn't part of the plan."
Despite his confusion, Zan spoke more maturely than previously. He made eye contact with Max, Michael, Isabel and Ava.
"You… you're the hybrid vessels of the Royal Four," Zan observed, slowly working it out, "yet all the Royal Four lie within me. How is this possible? What's going on? Where's Nasedo?"
"Nasedo's been dead for 20 years," Max answered.
"20 years?!" Zan exclaimed in shock, "and we… I've been dormant all this time."
"Longer," Ava noted.
"Your ship crashed over 70 years ago," Michael explained. "We were in stasis much of that time. When we finally woke up, Nasedo wasn't around."
"We didn't even know about the crystals until just a few days," Isabel added, "Or what the Granolith is."
"We caught up with Nasedo before his death," Max continued, "but the Skins were here, and they managed to kill him."
"The Skins," Zan recoiled with anger, "here?!"
"Don't worry," Max assured him, "we managed to defeat all of them. They're all dead."
"Well done," Zan praised them with an authority his son never would've shown, reminding Max that the individual they spoke with was a new, unique person. "What vessel is this?"
"Zan and Ava, we, uh, we had a son," Max informed Zan. "He was fully human and would've been rejected back at Antar. For reasons we can't get into right now, we decided our son should use all four crystals instead of restoring each of the Royal Four in our designated hybrid bodies."
"I see," Zan said, seemingly needing a moment to take all of this new information in.
"Listen, I can only imagine that sorting through the memories of four people is a little overwhelming, but we're kind of in the middle of a situation here," Michael interjected.
Max immediately noticed that Michael's tone didn't sound like he addressed royalty and Zan's disapproval showed on his face.
"Kivar's here," Isabel announced.
"Kivar made his way to Earth?" Zan asked.
"Yeah," Michael confirmed, "and he wants the Granolith."
"Never," Zan boldly proclaimed.
"You probably noticed the ship in the Granolith Chamber is gone," Max noted. "We've arranged passage for you back to Antar, but we were just fighting Kivar outside and he could find us any…"
Max heard the heavy door slide open and light from the bright desert sun began pouring in.
"…moment," Max finished.
Max turned toward the pod chamber's entryway just in time to see Kivar's hulking silhouette standing there. While he couldn't see Kivar's face, he could detect Kivar breathing heavily, not from fatigue but from rage. Kivar stepped forward, the rock sliding closed behind him.
"I don't know you pulled off that trick, but I've run out of patience," Kivar threatened. "I'll kill you all and tear this place to the ground to find the Granolith."
"Kivar, do the depths of your treachery know no bounds?" Zan asked.
Everyone filled in the space between Zan and Kivar since Zan remained near the pods when Kivar entered the scene. Upon hearing Zan's question, Max and the others all stood aside, parting like the Red Sea to give Zan a direct line of sight to Kivar.
Kivar's face lit up with giddiness as he spotted the Granolith in Zan's hand.
"Really?" Kivar asked with amusement, "You gave your most valuable asset to the boy?"
"I'm no boy," Zan contested.
As Zan spoke the line, he rushed forward. He closed in on Kivar, who reached up a hand expecting to strike Zan down with ease. Zan rapidly countered by raising his own hand and projecting a dark, forest green shield. Max sensed that the darker, deeper green of Zan's shield signified a more powerful energy than the paler green of his shield. As Kivar's attack contacted Zan's shield, only a small, faint amber spot flashed at the contact point and rapidly faded. It proved Max's hunch correct, as his shield always buckled when fending off that kind of energy while Zan blocked it with little trouble.
What happened next, Max never saw coming. Zan managed to somehow project the shield outward from his hand and toward Kivar. While Max could create a shield some distance from his hand, once activated, he could never move it. He never even thought to try. Zan's shield—Max realized Zan used it like an energy field, capable of more than defense—slammed into Kivar and bent in an arch around his body sliding him up against the right side wall of the pod chamber.
"How are you capable of this?" Kivar demanded, as he failed to burst free.
"I told you, you're not fighting just some boy," Zan told him, "you're fighting the Royal Four, all of us, alive in me."
"That's not possible," Kivar lamented as Zan's energy field squeezed in on him until it became an anaconda-like grip.
Zan seemed disinterested or unwilling to explain more to Kivar, but as the grip of his energy field remained tight, Kivar seemed unable to speak. After a few more seconds, Kivar's body grew limp and Zan allowed his energy field to blink out of existence. Max held his breath, horrified at the thought that he just witnessed an apparent murder.
"That ought to keep him out for a while," Zan said.
To Max's relief, a second look at Kivar's limp body on the floor revealed that Kivar clearly remained breathing.
"You didn't kill him," Michael stated.
"I'm not a killer," Zan said confidently. "Well, Zan and Ava aren't. Rath has killed in battle and Vilandra's passion gave her the stomach to order it, but she never did her own dirty work. Whoever I am now, I'm not a killer."
Max felt relief and an odd sense of pride, even though Zan's voice, word choice, posture and mannerisms held little resemblance to his son.
"What will you do now?" Max asked.
"Kivar must be brought to justice," Zan replied simply. "You said you have a way for me to get back to Antar. I should waste no time in getting Kivar properly restrained and returning to my kingdom."
"Oh, right," Max said, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the Trithium Amplification Generator Larek gave him, "here you go. Larek has a ship that should be in orbit by now. You can use this to signal him."
Zan's face lit up, "Ah, Larek, my old friend. Thank you to the four of you. It sounds like nothing went according to plan here, but in the end, I believe you all served Antar well."
Max didn't need to explain to Zan how the device worked. Zan pressed the button Larek instructed Max to push. A blue light raced around all faces of the pentagon-shaped crystal at the device's center several laps before the facing where Zan activated the device started blinking blue intermittently.
"I'll need to step outside," Zan announced flatly.
He didn't seem concerned what anyone else thought about that or if they chose to join him. Zan picked up Kivar and slung him over his shoulder. Max smiled with slight amusement because it didn't look like a man of Zan's slender figure should be able to handle a large, muscle-bound man like Kivar. Zan walked over to the entryway and used his hand to activate the door to the outside world. Max, Michael, Isabel and Ava followed him out of the pod chamber, with Liz, Maria, Serena, Jesse and Valenti not far behind.
Once outside, Zan carried Kivar down the trail at the base of the rock formation. Everyone else stayed at a high point nearer the pod chamber entrance. The rocks they ducked behind to battle Kivar were several feet ahead of them and there were no nearby barriers impeding their view of the scene unfolding before them.
Liz stood to the far left of their group all lined up, holding Max's left hand. Ava stood to his right, followed by Michael, Maria, Isabel, Jesse, Serena and Valenti. Max put his right arm around Ava's shoulder. He figured she felt the same strangeness he felt. This moment didn't elicit as much raw emotional as when Zan used the memory crystals, but something about the body of their son departing the Earth to fulfill a destiny that was supposed to be their own felt surreal, sad, triumphant, conclusive and freeing all at the same time. It left Max only able to watch in a silent awe with everyone else.
Zan stopped, set Kivar down by his feet and looked at the Trithium Amplification Generator. He then looked back up at Max and the others. While Zan stood far enough away that he couldn't say for sure, Max felt like Zan made eye contact with him.
Suddenly, Max sensed an indescribable energy in the air, almost like static electricity coming from above. In the blink of an eye, a large, saucer shaped craft identical in design to Kivar's ship appeared over Zan's head. For less than a second, a pit of worry panged in Max's stomach since he couldn't dismiss the possibility that Kivar's ship appeared, but the feeling faded as quickly as it appeared. Similar to his psychic bond with Isabel, Max somehow sensed that this ship belonged to Larek even though he couldn't rationalize how he knew.
A white spotlight shone down from the center of ship, enveloping Zan and Kivar. The light grew brighter, similar to the shapeshifting effect Max most recently witnessed Kivar exercise. The light grew so bright that he could no longer see Zan within it. Max squeezed Liz's hand a little tighter as she inched closer to him and placed her free left hand on his arm. Max squinted due to how bright the light from Larek's ship became, but he couldn't take his eyes off of it. After reaching peak luminosity, the light dimmed to a lower level before shutting down entirely. Zan and Kivar were gone.
As quickly as it appeared, the ship vanished without a sound. A feeling of closure washed over Max.
"Finally, after all these years, all of this is over," Isabel blurted out, sounding like she spoke the words with a degree of disbelief.
"It looks that way," Michael stated simply.
"What comes next for us?" Liz asked.
"Now we get to just… live," Max said.